The Phoenix Talon
by Queenboo5311
Summary: A new inexperianced shadow wielder joins the team! But when she suddenly falls in love with Jiro, a love triangle begins to form. Jiro likes her back but Jealousy is a dangerous thing and soon, friendships begin to crumble in devistating ways. Read about the group's adventures and the highschool drama that happens along the way!
1. Chapter 1

**Ok i owe a bit of an exolanation before you start reading. I changed up the story line a little to make things easier on me. All tje characters are about 16 with the exception of Zola. Ive also decided to bypass what happened with Zola and the Darkness. Im just gonna pretend it didnt happen XD some of the ideas that i had just would've worked better if Zola was still around. The only reason i kept everyone in their same clothes was because it makes wroting easier for me. I stuck Jiro with his clothes fron season 2 bc i have a thing for Jiro and thats the way i like it XD **

**Pairings consist of:**

**Shu x Bouquet**

**Kluke x Andropov **

**Zola x Conrad (little tiny hints but nothing serious cx)**

**Jiro x Author ([me!:D] i have a huge thing fir Jiro so.. i put myself in the story XD**

**Yes, there's a lot of romance for all you hopeless romantics! c;**

**I apologize for the somewhat boring beginning. I promise, it gets better XD **

**PLEASE review and tell me what you think. Please? c:**

"Excuse me ma'am."

I turn around to see a silver haired woman wearing a bandana with a skull on it. A sword dangles from her belt loop. Her outfit was skimpy but somehow shows a level of maturity and athlectics. Her voice is smooth, relaxed and confident all at once.

Standing next to her, a boy my age; 16 or so stood with his arms crossed and glaring at me. He had very light brown hair that was swept over neatly to the side. He's wearing a dark green tunic like outfit with a white, short sleeve shirt underneath, black jeans with brown boots and a sword slung over his back. The short sleeve shirt revealed his muscular arms and two black wrist bands on either hand.

The woman stood tall and confident in front of the boy as she begins to speak. "May my partner and I speak with you for a moment?"

Their appearances startle me a bit but I agree. "I suppose so."

I nodded approvingly waiting. The boy rolls his eyes and the woman speaks once more. "Privatley. If that's alright."

I stare at them not knowing what to say. The tall woman stares back at me. "Please, follow us."

They both turned around and headed into a clearing near the woods. I do as told and follow behind at a distance. "What is this about?" The boy sighs as if getting annoyed. "Please forgive my colleague. He can be a bit stubborn when he has to second guess things."

Did they just insult me? He huffs and ignores her. "If I'm not mistaken, your name is Rachel. Is it not?"

My ears start to ring and I feel panicked. "H-how did you know that?"

"Never mind that. You'll find out what's going on soon enough."

I bite my lip feeling anxious and remain quiet for the rest of the walk. We step out of the woods and in front of the very old ruins. Outside the entrance, stood a huge rock that looked like an animal had scratched on it. I stare wide-eyed at all of It and how amazing it all looks in its own dilapidated way. "If at all while we're here you feel something, tell us immediately." Her voice is so calm that I barely hear her speak.

"Something physical?"

The boy speaks for the first time but never makes eye contact. "No."

I stay quiet and walk inside the ruins. On the walls, there's wolves painted everywhere. Its all So fragile that I don't want to touch anything. there are pillars that have fallen over and bits of concrete everywhere.. we keep walking until we reach a wall in front of us with the statue of a large wolf standing on its hind legs and towering over us. It looks so fierce and vicious but confident and relaxed at the same time. I walk up close to it, and place my hand on the statue. At first, it's cold but then it feels like my hand is on fire! I leave my hand waiting to see if it gets worse but then I feel like I can punch a hole right through concrete. I close my eyes and continue to absorb the energy that I feel. I hear the boy behind me. "Zola, look.."

I turn around and open my eyes to a blue aura surrounding me. I look at my hands and clench my fists and I feel energy run throughout my body. Both of them stare wide-eyed at me and the ground in front of me. My shadow extends out in front of me and forms a black mass. It keeps growing and soon the mass towers over us and takes the shape of a black, vicious wolf with large fangs, razor sharp claws and piercing blue eyes. No legs. The lower half of its body is connected to my shadow


	2. Chapter 2

I let out a shriek and fall back staring at what has just formed. "So it's not a myth, Jiro."

He stays quiet still staring at my shadow. I sit in fear to afraid to talk or move or even breathe. I look over at Zola as a plead for help but she looks down to Jiro. He makes eye contact with me for the first time. "Talk to it."

I gulp and nod approvingly at him before staring up at the shadow. I feel insanely stupid but I do it anyway. "uhm.. Hi.."

the shadow reaches an arm out and turns toward a wall before punching it with much force. I shriek again and cover my head with my arms as more concrete bits fall to to ground. It moves it's arm back, ready to punch again but I hear Jiro yell as he stands with the same blue aura around him but Zola puts an arm in front of him as if telling him to stop before anything else can be done. I try to plead with the shadow. "Please stop!"

Another punch is thrown at the wall and more bits crumble to the floor. "Please!"

More punches are thrown one after another, and I cover my ears with my hands trying to block out the sound and shout even louder at it. "STOP IT!"

I wait a few more seconds and it stops. I look up at Jiro who is ever so slightly smiling. He nods at me and I gain the courage to stand up and talk to it directly now. "Who are you?"

"I am Wolfen. guardian of weilder. Master of stealth."

His voice is deep and makes the concrete bits shake. I raise an eyebrow and glace over to Jiro and Zola. "Weilder?"

Jiro places his forehead in one hand and groans and Zola snaps at him. "Patience, Jiro. If I remember correctly, you weren't so bright about this either when you obtained your shadow."

He huffs and crosses his arms once more. "Shadow? Wait is he, connected to me?"

Zola smiles and closes her eyes. "It's more than being connected. He's part of you. A partnership that can't be broken by any other force. He is your shadow and more importantly, a guardian. You are his wielder.. Guardian of Weilder."

"So he protects me?From what?"

Zola speaks in all seriousness. "Dark forces.. Shadows like yours but used for evil purposes."

"How will he protect me?"

Jiro shouts as that blue aura from before forms around him and his shadow begins go grow. "MINOTAUR!"

A large, teal beast with two large horns and huge muscles erupts behind him. they both stand with their arms crossed. I shriek again at the sight of the beast and fall back onto my back. "What a wuss. This is the best you can do, Jiro? For once I thought you would pick someone worthy of our time."

His shadow stands almost motionless and sounds like a bulky middle aged man. "Can I just punch them?"

Zola stares down Jiro and he smiles again before closing his eyes once more. "Be my guest."

Shocked, Zola doesn't know what to say. "Jiro, what are you doing!?"

Minotaur raises his fist and aims straight at me. I tuck my head between my knees and brace myself. A loud bang makes more cement fall and I look up to see Minotaur's fist in Wolfen's hand. He stopped him..

I forget all about the shadows for a moment and snap at Jiro. "Why would you do that!? You scared me half to death! How dare you treat a girl like that! I thought you'd have more respect for someone you JUST met! You deserve to be slapped for such ignorant behavior!"

A loud slap noise echoes throughout the ruins and Jiro falls back as it does. He places his hand on his cheek and moans in pain. Minotaur is doing the same. I look up at Wolfen who has his arms crossed and smiling contently, showing a hint of fang. What just happened? "Did.. Wolfen slap you, Minotaur?"

He groans again in pain. "Yeah, what do you think happened? I think you need to get your dog on a leash."

I look Minotaur up and down quickly before huffing and crossing my arms at him then turning my attention to Jiro who is still on the ground. "Jiro, I'm so sorry! I don't know why he did that!"

I offer out my hand to help him up but he gets up on his own and I pull my hand back feeling childish. Zola laughs and places a hand on Jiro's shoulder. "About time someone smacked Jiro around a little bit. How are you so advanced already? You and your shadow can communicate by thought and feelings as well as out loud. Something Jiro has yet to learn."

He snaps and Minotaur dissolves into the ground and back into his regular shadow. He stands with his arms crossed and smiles while looking off in the distance. Show off.. I look up at my shadow and nod. "Yes, Master."

Wolfen does the same and we're back to normal. I cross my arms and walk past Jiro feeling impressive. I feel his eyes follow me out in slight awe. Who's the show off now?

They follow me out but Zola stops once we get outside. "We need you to follow us once more to our village. We have some friends waiting to meet you."

"They know about me?"

"They know of you. They know we went in search for someone to bring back. You are that person we needed."

After thinking it over I agree to go with them. "What village are we going to?"

"Talta village."

"Alright I guess. Let's go!"

We begin walking back into the woods in silence. "..Do you have a shadow, Zola?"

"Yes, as a matter if fact, I do. Killer Bat. You'll see him in time."

"Aright. so does this mean that we're all like.. possessed?"

"No. Think of it more as a partnership as I said before. You're not possessed. you possess a shadow. That makes you a shadow weilder. You and your shadow are a team that work together against other forces..."

She goes on about how it's not possession and that Its mire of partnerships, bonds, and the special relationship between humans and shadows. We eventually reach a clearing and a small village comes into view.


	3. Chapter 3

The both step in front of me blocking view from the village and the villages view from me. Another boy around the same age as Jiro shouts in excitement. "Hey, they're back!"

Him and three others run towards us. Zola and Jiro are still blocking their view from me. The same boy speaks again. "So who did you bring back!? Is he a nightmaster!?"

A girl speaks. "Calm down, Shu."

Then a girl with a higher voice. "Yeah, Shu! You don't wanna get all worked up, now do you sweetie?"

"Bouquet! Get off me!"

Then a boy with a higher and slightly annoying voice. "Enough! Who is he!? Maro!"

Zola holds out a hand and everyone quiets down. "Shu, this person is not a Nightmaster."

"Awwww!"

"But.. This person is also not a 'he.'"

Everyone gasps as Zola and Jiro step to the side revealing me. I can get a clear shot of everyone now. The older boy has medium length hair tied back into a ponytail. He's wearing a black tank loosely tucked into yellow cargo shorts that are wrapped with a red belt and complete with brown boots.

The girl who looks more mature but the same age as me has her brown hair tied back with a yellow ribbon. she's wearing a pink dress with a yellow waist belt and white boots.

The other girl has long black hair tied into two high ponytail and is wearing a short, blue maid dress. She has a lot of sex appeal but no one seems to pay attention.

There's one more.. He's a short, yellow creature with pointy ears and a brown helmet with 2 spikes on top. He's wearing red overalls with a yellow cape. He has squinting eyes and a little cat nose. "It's a girl! Maro likes girls!"

The yellow one raises his arms in excitement and jumps up and down in place. Jiro places his forehead in one hand and Zola takes the lead. "Allow me to introduce you to everyone."

She points to the older looking boy. "That's Shu." He salutes me with two fingers.

She points to the girl with the pink dress. "That's Kluke." She smiles kindly at me.

She points to the girl in the blue dress. "That's bouquet." She waves her fingers at me.

She closes her eyes and sighs as she points to the yellow one. "and.. That's Marumaro. He comes from the devee tribe. Its normal for him to add 'Maro' at the end of almost every sentence."

Bouquet interrupts and gets huffy. "And a he's a perv too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too times infinity!"

"Are not times whatever comes after infinity!"

Jiro interrupts their bickering and takes control. "Both of you, stop!"

They both are quiet in an instant. Marumaro mumbles under his breath. "..am not.."

"That's a time out!"

"You can't give me a timeout Maro!"

"Go sit in the grass over there!"

"but-"

"Now!"

Marumaro pouts at Jiro and before walking away let's out a sad "..maro.."

Bouquet giggles. "We should put him in time out more often!"

Kluke speaks and looks at me. "So is she a shadow weilder?"

Zola answers back in return. "Indeed and a very strange one at that. She just summoned her shadow today and she didn't pass out or drain any energy."

I see Jiro out of the corner of my eye brisk his hand against his cheek. Its slightly red and raised but hardly noticeable. Kluke aims her next question at me.

"and you don't feel tired at all?"

I shake my head lightly and smile. Shu bursts with excitement. "What does your shadow look like!?"

I look over at Zola to give him a more specific answer. I wouldn't want to say that he's a shadow wolf and find out that that's not what they would refer to him as. "Her shadow takes the form of a dark wolf who goes by the name of 'Wolfen.'"

"That sounds awesome!" I speak in front of everyone for the first time. "I thought so. Maybe you and I can battle sometime."

Shu laughs and crosses his arms. "Ha! Don't waste your time! My shadow is really powerful.."

Jiro snaps at him. "Hey, don't get so cocky! You're shadow isn't the only one with muscle!"

"Oh yeah? Well, Blue Dragon has more muscle than Minotaur. As far as I'm concerned, that's all that really matters."

"You willing to test that theory?"

"No. I'm ready to prove it! LET'S GO BLUE DRAGON!"

Shu slides his foot out and clenches his fists, summoning his shadow. A blue aura forms around him and a large blue Dragon with piercing red eyes and insane muscle erupts from behind him. Jiro does the same. "MINOTAUR!" soon we're surrounded by two large shadows that tower over us.

"Oh, long time no see Blue Dragon."

Blue Dragon doesn't say anything. Marumaro runs up excited. "Maro wants to play!"

He touches the ground with his right hand and the same blue aura forms around him. "SABER TIGER!" He thrusts his arm up as if pulling his shadow out of the ground and a large brown saber tiger with huge fangs appears behind him. Saber Tiger bends down and Marumaro jumps on his back while pointing to Jiro and Minotaur. "Go, Saber Tiger!"

Saber Tiger moves impeccably fast and punches Minotaur sending both him and Jiro flying back. "Tag you're it!"

Jiro stands up and snarles. "Why you little.."

He slides his foot out, slightly bending his knees and clenching his fists. Now an even brighter aura forms around him. His neatly placed hair stands up due to the force and energy of the aura. He yells as if charging an attack before shouting, "WAVES OF RAGE!"

Minotaur starts to punch Saber Tiger rapidly and repeatedly one after the other but Saber Tiger is blocking them all. "Ha! Minotaur is no match Saber Tiger!"

Minotaur stops punching and Saber Tiger let's his guard down for a second and Jiro smirks. "Hey Marumaro-!"

Minotaur lands a punch right in Saber Tiger's jaw sending them both into the ground behind them. Saber Tiger disappears and Marumaro lays on the ground groaning. Minotaur finishes Jiro's sentence. "You forgot to say 'no tag backs' you little punk."

Shu yells in disappointment. "Awww I wanted to be it this time!"

Without question, Minotaur punches Blue Dragon, knocking Shu down. Blue Dragon finally speaks. "Hey what's your problem!?"

His voice is like Minotaurs but deeper and more growly. "What? you've never played tag before?"

"Is that what this is? I get summoned to play a childish game of tag?"

Shu shouts at Blue Dragon getting defensive. "Just shut up and do something!"

Blue Dragon punches Minotaur back, leaving Jiro's red cheek now bruised. "No tag backs, you fool."

"What about hit backs? They takes turns exchanging punches. Each one more painful than the last. Zola sighs. "Oh man.. Come on out Killer Bat."

She draws her sword and a Large, purple killer bat carrying a huge sword rises behind her. She steps between the two of them. She raises her sword and Killer Bat echoes her movements. She lowers her sword to the ground hurling it into the grass and Killer Bat mimics her sending dirt flying through the air and forcing the three boys into a fit of coughing and sneezing. they are forced to retain their shadows and forfeit the fight. I don't think I really want to battle Shu anymore.

"Now that's enough you three! Marumaro, you should know better than to jump in on a battle between Shu and Jiro! It's their training! Jiro, you need to learn to control your emotions! Shu, You need to stop antagonizing your team! Can you guys go 10 minutes without starting a fight!?"

Zola draws her sword back, furious with their behavior. "I just didn't want to be in time out anymore maro."

Jiro shoots Marumaro a glare."You're not supposed to come out of timeout until I say so, idiot."

Shu jumps in defensively. "Well why do you always get to be in charge!?"

"Because I'm the most mature out of you two."

"We can be just as mature as you maro!" Well you're certainly not acting like it."

Shu glances away from Jiro and crosses his arms. "Well that's because.. uhm... We just like to mess with you!"

Jiro rolls his eyes. "Obviously."

"You can at least show us a little more respect maro."

"Whatever. I'm done wasting my time with you two."

He walks over towards me and the other three girls and after a while, Zola sighs. "Thank you for being somewhat mature about that and walking away, Jiro."

Bouquet looks around questioningly and looks worried. "Hey everyone, where did Kluke go?"

Everyone scans around them and Kluke is nowhere in sight. "Well come on guys! We gotta find her! She could be in danger!" Shu commands to the group.

Everyone shouts in unison "Right!" As they cross the field we were in and to the village near by. But something tells me to stay behind. "..stop.."

There's a quiet voice in my head. Deep but soft. I panic and pull Shu aside as he was the closest one to me and I talk quietly to him. "Can I ask you something, Shu?"

"Uh, yeah sure. What is it?"

His face blushes and I panic even more due to the group getting further away. They might come back to check on us and I can't tell them all. Some may not understand. "Can I hang back here for a little? I'm just in so much shock about what happened today. I think I need some time alone to think."

He seems relieved for some reason. "Yeah. I don't see why not. I know how you feel. But uhm.."

He reaches into his pocket and shoves a bracelet in my hands. "Here, take this. It will keep you safe if you're ever in trouble."

The bracelet has a sliver chain and attached to it is a round, emerald stone. It was beautiful and looked magical by the way it glistened in the sunlight. "Oh, Shu, You don't have to give this to me. I'll be fine."

I try to give back the bracelet but he puts his hands behind his back to refuse. "No. Seriously. Take it."

I blush at his kind gesture and seeing my appreciation makes him do the same. He takes the bracelet and holds out his hand to take mine. I place my hand in his and he fastens the bracelet around my wrist. His hands are warm against my skin. "Why are you giving this to me, Shu?"

He scratches the back of his head. "Well.. it's just that you're gonna be alone and I don't want you to get hurt; You being a newbie and all."

"That's kinda sweet." I pull him into a hug and whisper "Thank you." Before letting go.

He kicks the grass lightly with one foot. "Ah, it was nothing."

His cheeks flush a light pink color and I bite my tongue to hold back a giggle. "What are you guys doing?"

Shu looks wide eyed at me before turning around. "Jiro!"

I look past Shu and lock eyes with Jiro speechless. "Kluke is missing and you're flirting with the new girl!?"

"WOAH! I was not flirting with her!" Jiro's eyes move to the bracelet that Shu gave me and then glares at Shu.

"Yeah Jiro, I think you have the wrong idea. It's nothing like that."

"Then enlighten me. What exactly is this about?"

I don't know what to say. Jiro seems to cold hearted to understand my reason for staying behind. "Gladly. She's staying behind because-"

No! "BECAUSE-!"

I stay quiet for a second realizing how loudly and rudely I just cut Shu off. Both of the boys look to me. Shu stays quiet and Jiro raises an eyebrow at me waiting for the answer. "Because Shu was helping me understand my shadow and what training's like."

He looks to Shu. "You're worrying about that now!? Kluke is missing!" Yikes bad answer..

"and also because he's helping me find a ring that I dropped back there." Jiro snaps at me.

"You weren't wearing a ring." Should've know he'd be observing me while Zola did all the talking.

An idea crosses my mind but I immediately shoot it down. I have no other options though. After quickly thinking it through I agree to my idea.. Here goes nothing. I look to the ground fighting a blush. "..I keep it in my bra.."

Jiro's face turns red as well as Shu's. "It's really important to me. There's no way I'd keep it in plain sight."

Jiro nods quickly before looking away from me trying so desperately to rid his blush. ".I- uh. I understand."

He gains the courage to look back up at me but quickly looks at the bracelet that I've been wearing. "I just need to have a talk with Shu later."

Shu winces and glances at the bracelet he gave me. "Just keep an eye out for Kluke too. Meet us back at The inn when you find your uhm.. ring."

We both nod approvingly and walk into the forest. I let out a sigh of relief. "Why didn't you want Jiro to know the truth?"

"He just seems so cold hearted. I didn't want him to judge me. He probably wouldn't have understood anyway."

"Jiro's actually not bad guy. To other people anyway. I think he kind of hates me." "He kind of scares me."

I laugh as we continue walking.

"He kinda had a scary past. That's why he is the way he is."

"What hap-"

"Nope. That's for Jiro to tell you." He cuts me off already knowing what I was going to ask.

"I have a feeling that Jiro and I won't be the best of friends." I frown at the thought, hiding my face from Shu.

"But you're a girl. Jiro's got a soft side for girls."

I laugh through my breath. "So what do we do about your 'ring'? I know you kinda wanted to be alone so if you want, I can-"

"No!" I bite my lip feeling clingy. "Just stay with me."

Shu nods and smiles.


	4. Chapter 4

After aimlessly walking through the woods for a while, Shu races in front of me to stop me. "Ok so, what's the real reason you wanted to stay behind?"

"Huh? This is the real reason.."

He steps really close to me, forcing me to back into a tree. He places his hand on the tree above my shoulder leaning forward, leaving and open space on the right side of me. I think about moving due to how awkward I feel but a light blue aura that's barely noticeable forms around him and he leans close to my face. He looks into my eyes and I feel incredibly uncomfortable but really satisfied at the same time. I can hear a low growl coming from him. Almost like hearing the dragon inside of him.

I tuck in my lips and hold my breath. He's so close to me and I can feel his body heat.

"Are you sure?" His voice is low and smooth.

I look away and all he does is smile. He laughs to himself and leans even closer to my face. Oh God. Is he going to-.

He reaches a foot behind my leg knocking me straight down to a sitting position and he sits with his legs crossed in front of me.

Thank God he isn't so close anymore. He rests his chin in his hands and looks to me expectantly. "Well?"

I sigh as I begin to tell him the truth. "I stayed behind because there was just something-"

"Hehe keep it down or someone's gonna hear us!"

Shu and I lock eyes as we realize that somebody else is close by. He stands up and reaches a hand out to help me up and naturally, I take it.

We walk quietly and cautiously to the voice that we heard. We both hide behind a large tree and peer over to where the voice came from.

A familiar pink dress with a yellow sash around the waist comes into view.

Shu gasps and begins to walk out from behind the tree but before he can get any further, I pull the back of his shirt and place a hand over his mouth. "Shh.. Lets find out who she was talking to."

Shu nods and we look over to Kluke from behind the tree. Who ever she's talking to is behind a tree next to her.

"Kluke I really am enjoying this time with you but I'm more than sure that your friends are worrying about where you are. Maybe you should go."

"Don't be silly! They're fine and I would much rather be with you right now."

Someone grabs her hands. "Are you absolutely sure?"

"Of course! I wouldn't miss this opportunity for anything!"

He laughs calmly and reaches toward her, wrapping his arms around her waist, picking her up and spinning her around in his arms. Shu gasps once more and mutters something to himself. The boy comes into view when he picks her up.

He has baby blue hair that is untamed and sticking up.

"Kluke?.."

He leans close to her face, pressing his forehead against hers. "Yes, Andropov?"

**Yaaaay finally brought Andropov into play!:D I've been meaning to write Author notes before and after each chapter to keep you guys up to date and stuff but I've been so lazy. I've only had 2 people review and sadly, I'm impressed by that -.\**

**Please Read and Review and be nice! This is my first fanfic..**


	5. Chapter 5

**Next chapter!:D it's another short one amd possibly boring. I promise to pick up on the romance soon! I've got something big planned with JiroxAuthor in the next few chapters! **

He sighs looking down like he's at a loss for words. He looks back up and places a gentle but firm kiss to her lips.

He laughs as he pulls away. "I'm.. sorry. . Just didn't know what to say."

"It's ok. I think i know what you wanted to say."

She smiles and kisses him back.

I feel so bad for spying so I tap on Shu and gesture him to follow me away from the two of them.

We quietly make our way to another part of the forest. It feels like we've been walking for hours but the sun is still high.

"Why did Kluke have to sneak away to go see that boy?"

Shu sighs. "Everyone that you met has some sort of crush on someone in the group. Except Kluke of course. She and Andropov have a little secretive thing going on. With bouquet, She likes me and thinks I'm her fiancé-"

I laugh at the thought. "Fiancé?"

"Long story" He quickly adds. "With Marumaro, it's every girl in town and every girl he meets. He's kinda got a thing for bouquet though. With Zola, I think she either has or used to have something with Nightmaster Conrad, and Jiro is just kind of quiet and never thinks about it."

"What about you?"

He blushes and looks at his feet. "Uh.. well.. I've known Kluke since I was really little but I'm don't think that I like her that way."

I look at him and can tell by the way he talks about her that he has some sort of feelings for her.

"Well you're part of the group now. See anyone you like so far?"

My face gets hot and my cheeks flush. "Well.. Jiro is kind of attractive but way too independent for my own good. You've been nice to me and stuff but.."

I pause. I can't think of a reason why he's not my type. I completely freeze and don't know what else to say. Shu just looks at me and smiles. Well.. there goes that..

He gives me a funny look and before I know it, he steps toward, pushing me back against another tree in the same position as before. "You never finished explaining to me why you wanted to stay behind."

I sit down and he does the same. "Well, when we couldn't find Kluke, you all walked towards the village but when I followed, there was-"

"I found you guys maro!"

Shu rolls his eyes, annoyed and its not hard to tell why. "Yes, Marumaro?"

"Well, We were searching for Kluke but Zola ignored all of us, Bouquet kept calling me a perv and Jiro was just Jiro maro."

I kind of liked being alone with Shu. He was easier to talk to than the rest. "Why didn't you just go back to the inn, Marumaro?"

"I would've gotten lonely maro."

Shu sighs and looks at me. "Go to the inn. Well meet you there in 15 minutes."

"Maro."

He walks away more willingly than expected. "Well that's a first." Shu mutters.

"I suppose we should go find Kluke and bring her back."

"Yeah.. let's go."

We begin walking in the general area of where they were before and the pink dress and blue hair are not hard to spot.

"Kluke might think I've been spying on her if I go get her. Will you go?"

I smile and nod. I walk up slowly behind Kluke and Andropov greets me. "Hello. Is there something we can help you with?"

Kluke turns around and recognizes me. "Newbie? What are you doing out here all alone?"

"Oh well I-"

"BLUE DRAGON, HELP ME!"

we turn around to see Blue Dragon punching a tree and knocking it down. Shu sits balled up on the forest floor. He stands up and I look at him annoyed. Way to blow your cover, Shu.

"What!? There was a bee!"

I turn back to Kluke. "I'm not alone." I laugh awkwardly. "Everyone is worried about you because you just disappeared. We need to get back to the inn before everyone loses their minds trying to find you."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause any trouble."

She faces Andropov and hugs him. "Bye Andropov."

I feel bad for making her just drop him and leave. "That wasn't a very thorough goodbye, Kluke. Just make sure you start walking back to the inn pretty soon ok?"

She nods excitedly and jumps into Andropov's arms.

I motion Shu to keep moving and head towards the inn. I punch his arm as we walk.

"Ow, What was that for!?"

"For blowing your cover."

"It was a big bee!"

I laugh at his childishness and continue walking back towards the village with Shu by my side.

**bleh... i can do so much better.. i swear it gets better the more you read! I've got some serious drama coming up! **


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